The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1887-08-06

See him swim ~
1t was 4: 80 o'clock in the morn
ing when boatman Jack Riordan
addressed these words to his COM
rade, Tom Clune. They had been
out delivering stores to some sailing
vessel at ancher and were off Bed
loe's island on their way back when
Jack gave utterance to his sudden
exclamation. He referred to fin
back whale which Captain Phil
brick of the steamship Pulver first
saw two days ago swimming in the
bay off the island. The captain
fired two shots into the mammal,
which sank out of sight. Every
boatman on the Battery has since
been crazy to capture his whaleship.
Tom, when thus adjured by Jack,
strained his eyes in the direction
indicated, and sure enough there
was the whale.
The men decided to attempt his
capture and they succeeded, though
both got a thorough ducking and
narrowly escaped being knocked
into the next world. They eau
tiously began rowing toward the
huge black mass that kept slowly
moving by the action of its huge
fanlike tail. Its immense dorsal
fin just waved, and that was all.
Cautiously as the boat moved the
whale saw its adversaries and, re-
membering doubtless, the pistol
wounds it had previously received,
darted off, taking a bee line for
pier A. The men followed, pulling
with all their strength. The l5-foot
boat flew over the water. The
whale ran into the little basin east
of pier A and began swimming in
circle as if confused. The boat
men shouted to watchman John
Landrigan on the pier. He jumped
into a boat and seizing boathook
as the whale passed, buried it deep
in the blac kback of themammal
just ahead of the dorsal fin.
"Quick! quick " shouted Rior-
dan, Jump into our boat" Land
rigan obeyed, and line was at
tached to his boat, which paid out
like lightning as the wounded
whale darted for the open bay. The
line, sixty or more feet in length,
was exhausted in ten minutes, and
the boat followed the whale at ex-
press speed. AS it passed the end
of pier A it struck and Riordan
was pitched head first into the wa
ter. He escaped with a few bruises.
Meantime the boat, with the other
two men, sped toward Bedloe's
island at the greatest speed 1T was
ever known to attain.
Howly mother !" roared Clune,
where's he takin' us?" Landrigan
made no explanation.
Suddenly, when abreast of the
island, the whale made a sharp
turn and darted for land again as
fast as it had come out. The boat
was whirled like top and almost
capsized. This time the mammal
made for the Pennsylvania pier,
and, striking one of the iron grid
ers, rammed its nose under the iron
structure. The boat struck the
iron steamship pier and Clune this
time took an involuntary bath. He
was picked up. Landrigan was the
only one in the party who remained
dry. The whale had withdrawn its
head from under the pier and was
lashing the water into foam. Huge
pieces of skin were cut from its
back and sides by striking against
some coal barges. The furry lasted
but few minutes and then the
mass foated on the water dead
whale. The water was dyed red
around it. 1t measured about
thirty feet and was. of dead black
color on the back, which gave place
to a grayish white upon the sides
and the purest white upon the belly.
Riordan and Clune attached the
carcass by a rope to the wharf and
charged people ten cents each the
other day for the privilege of walk
ing out on the string-piece to view
the "critter." Riordan took the
money When Clune asked for q
divvy of the sheckels, Jack refused
and a dispute followed, which
end d in Riordan seizing Clune and
tossing him into the water along
side the whale. The steam tug
Delaware, in the afternoon, tOwed
the whales carcass into the stream
and set it adrift. The finbacks do
not yield much oil, but it is of ex-
cellent quality. A whale has not
been seen in the bay before for years.